Go To Thoughts on Graduation

Kelly shares a grandson's eulogy that captures the essence of an extraordinary relationship with his grandmother. Through William Wallace's memories, we see how his "Grams" created magic through simple but meaningful traditions – from crafting elaborate birthday desserts to transforming spaces just for him – demonstrating how the deepest family bonds are built through consistent presence and thoughtful attention to what makes someone feel special. (Previously aired) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A father in Dublin watches through a car window as his five-year-old son talks to his mother in the front seat—the pale face in the glow of headlights, the hands clasped to the seatbelt, the bare arm raised to point at something. He can't hear a word, but he knows everything about that conversation that truly matters. In this final Go To episode featuring Duncan Keegan's TED talk from Kelly's curated session on AI and family life, a man who lost his son explores what we're really for—being present with each other in ways that require courage, sacrifice, and our full living selves—especially in moments of profound loss and grief. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anna Quindlen and Kelly work through pre-game jitters about the holidays and how they might turn out okay after all. Kelly shares a reading on the ever-present need for forgiveness. Special guest appearance by Kelly’s brother, Booker. (Previously aired) If you enjoyed this episode with Anna Quindlen, please check out Kelly Corrigan Wonders episodes 24-28 featuring Anna Quindlen and podcaster Anna Sale for a series on “How to Make the Most of Family Life”. Please subscribe, rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts! We read and appreciate every review. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens when you show up for someone else's joy while carrying your own grief? A mother steps away from caregiving for 72 hours to witness a bat mitzvah, and discovers that being woven into someone else's celebration—the photo shoots, the prayers, the hours on the dance floor—can lift sorrow without erasing it. This is Emma Nadler's reflection on how we need each other not despite what we're going through, but because of it. Emma Nadler is the author of The Unlikely Village of Eden: A Memoir, and is working on a novel. For more information, check out www.emmanadler.com  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A scientist and entrepreneur built an AI to intercept every interruption in family life—the basketball emails, the field trip forms, the play rehearsal schedule buried at the bottom of a message. Then, an investor suggested the product could do more: text the sitter automatically, send birthday wishes to friends, suck up every teacher email so parents never see another one, and Avni Patel Thompson realized something didn't feel right. In this Go To episode featuring Avni's TED talk from Kelly's curated session on AI and family life, a mother who designs AI products for families discovers that not all friction is bad—some of it creates connection. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A text arrives: want to help build a movement around Jonathan Haidt's new book? Within a week, Alexa Arnold is sitting in his NYU office discussing how to change the world—and then she's in a hot tub with friends having a panic attack because she can't figure out how to do this massive job and raise an 18-month-old at the same time. In this final episode of The Tryhards—a three-part series for ambitious parents trying to be the best version of themselves day by day—Kelly talks with Alexa Arnold and Kate Cockrell about intensive parenting, impossible standards, and what it means to choose work you love while raising humans who need you. Through conversations about performing motherhood online, the merge of adult world and kid world, and why competence plus joy might be the actual goal, they explore how modern parenting became unsustainably intense and whether caring for your own purpose is actually one of the best things you can do for your kids. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1974, a suburban housewife named Pat Tiehel (aka PT), submitted an essay to a women's magazine about being angry at a system that gave her education and aspirations, then kept her pinned up at home. The magazine rejected it. One year later, everything changed. This is the essay PT's daughters found tucked away in their mom's papers after she died—a document of wanting more...and what happened next. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andy Laats thought parenting was a complete alphabet—he did A through M, his wife Liz handled N through Z. After she died of ovarian cancer, he learned he'd underestimated the N through Z work, and then discovered there was a whole world beyond language he never even knew existed. In this Go To episode featuring Andy's TED talk from Kelly's curated session on AI and family life, a CEO learns what a mother knows—that the prize of parenting isn't in mastering the logistics or even the emotional check-ins, but in earning access to something beyond words. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's underneath mom rage and why does it keep happening? In this second episode of The Tryhards—a 3-part series for ambitious parents trying to be the best version of themselves day by day—Kelly talks with Alexa Arnold and Kate Cockrill about the impossible expectations we set, the tasks we hoard, and what our rage is really trying to tell us. This is a conversation about suppression, resentment, love and the moments when mercy appears from the most unexpected places. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A mother stands to speak about her son Pierce—the boy who had style, a memorable laugh, and a way of making ordinary moments feel like love. Lesley Hu delivered this eulogy after Pierce was shot and killed by his father during a custody dispute, one of roughly 52 children murdered each year by a parent or stepparent amid legal negotiations over divorce, separation, or custody. This is Lesley's tribute to her kind, hilarious, energetic boy, and her pledge to transform unspeakable tragedy into meaning through Pierce's Pledge, a campaign working to reduce violence against children by encouraging temporary weapon storage during family law disputes. To learn more about Pierce's Pledge, visit: https://www.piercespledge.org/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices